Blended Finance Playbook for Climate-Smart Agrifood Systems

The document addresses the significant underfunding of climate-smart agrifood systems, which contribute approximately 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It argues that while public and private capital are necessary, concessional capital is essential for the 'missing middle'—projects with high impact but sub-commercial returns. The playbook outlines five specific investment strategies: system-level approaches, natural capital restoration, shared climate-smart infrastructure, technical assistance for innovation, and the scaling of local financial intermediaries. It includes a framework to help donors, foundations, and development finance institutions design and implement blended finance strategies to accelerate the transition to net-zero agrifood systems.

• Global agrifood systems are the second-largest emitter of greenhouse gases after the energy sector, accounting for roughly 30% of total emissions.
• Climate finance for agrifood systems is severely insufficient, totaling USD 95 billion, which represents only 7.2% of total climate finance across all sectors for 2021/22 and 8.3% of the annual funding required for net-zero alignment.
• Investment in agrifood systems is geographically and sectorally concentrated, with nearly 75% of investment going to East Asia and Western Europe, and over 40% directed toward livestock and crop systems, leaving nature-based solutions and smallholder farmer adaptation underserved.
• Concessional capital is uniquely positioned to address the 'missing middle'—opportunities that offer high social and environmental impact but sub-commercial returns—by providing de-risking, patient capital, and technical assistance.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2025). Blended Finance Playbook for Climate-Smart Agrifood Systems. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/blended-finance-playbook-for-climate-smart-agrifood-systems/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Blended Finance Playbook for Climate-Smart Agrifood Systems. 2025. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/blended-finance-playbook-for-climate-smart-agrifood-systems/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Blended Finance Playbook for Climate-Smart Agrifood Systems |date=26 June 2025 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/blended-finance-playbook-for-climate-smart-agrifood-systems/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2025blended, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Blended Finance Playbook for Climate-Smart Agrifood Systems}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2025}, month = jun, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/blended-finance-playbook-for-climate-smart-agrifood-systems/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }